Ken Baker is taking his appreciation for the Christmas season and turning it into a profession with his recent degree in Santaclausology. Baker, a resident of Christiana and a full-time counselor at the Devereux Foundation in West Chester is just one of the nearly 3,000 graduates of the International University of Santa Claus in the past decade. IUSC is the largest annual Santa training school in the country. It offers a two-day program where people interested in taking their Santa skills to the next level can learn about the Santa business.

“I first sat as Santa when (a Lancaster County fire company) asked me to do so for their annual Christmas breakfast and I’ve been volunteering for them for them ever since.” Baker loved the spirit and excitement he brought to others from the moment he first put on the costume three years ago. “When I decided to start doing Santa professionally, I spoke to 12 professional Santas about how to get started in the business and all 12 of them recommended the school to me.”

As a student at IUSC, Baker was offered the chance to learn entirely about Santa Claus, from the history of the man, to the figure he ought to be upheld as today, and everything in between. The schooling lasts only two days, but the students are instructed on safety and working with children, how to maintain the proper wardrobe and appearance of Santa, and the varying presentation styles of Santa Claus.

IUSC is the only mobile Santa school in the country. It visits between 10 and 12 cities annually, sometimes making its way to Europe and Canada, teaching prospective Santas and Mrs. Clauses about the Christmas business. This August, the school will be making stops in Atlanta and Boston.

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Baker traveled to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, to receive his Bachelors of Santa Claus, or BSC, this past July.

He claims the schooling he received altered the way he viewed the industry. “I really didn’t realize how much went into it,” Baker said, “I think understanding the history of Santa is a big part of being a successful Santa, and I’m looking forward to bringing it into my performances.”

Since attending the two day program presented by IUSC, Baker has decided to become a year-round professional Santa Claus. He will be available to provide Santa Claus services 12 months out of the year instead of strictly during the holiday season. He will not be using fake padding, or a fake beard. “I’m going to be bleaching my hair and beard white year round so that I can bring that joy and excitement all year,” said Baker, “My train of thought is if you’re going to do something, you should do it well.”

In addition to bleaching his hair white, Baker will be adding more red-colored clothing to his personal wardrobe. In doing this, he hopes that it will be easily understood that he is a Santa Claus when he is out in public. “I’m also building up my Santa wardrobe so that I can offer different levels of Santa to people,” said Baker, “Right now, I have a traditional red suit, but I am working on getting more. Some people like Old World Santa; he wears a cape. Others like Coca Cola Santa. His suit has buttons down the front.”

On his website, Baker lists all of the services he offers as Santa Claus. Aside from the traditional sit-on-Santa’s lap visit, Baker does corporate, family, and church events. He offers personal visits to homes dressed as Santa to read Christmas stories to children or to put their name on the nice list in his naughty/nice book. He does activities for large groups of children as well. With fun activities and “Christmas magic,” Baker can speak to children about anti-bullying or enforce upon them the importance of the religious aspect of the holiday. “All the ideas on my website I got from the 12 professional Santas I spoke to,” said Baker. He will be adding his own ideas to his list of services in the near future. “There will be new services that people will have access to soon,” said Baker, “One of them is called a sneak-a-peak. I’ll pre-arrange a time with the parents on Christmas Eve to come over with the presents and the kids can “catch” Santa in the act of putting their presents under the tree.” Another new service Baker will offer is for corporations. Businesses can have Baker deliver the Christmas bonus checks to the employees in costume as Santa.

Baker’s extensive involvement in the character of Santa has to do with more than his passion for the Christmas season. Baker said, “The one thing that I really love is the amount of joy that you can bring to people at Christmastime.” Baker also finds it beneficial that he can use the consumerist symbol of the Santa character to refer people back to the religious affiliation with Christmas. “Being a Christian man myself, Christmas is really about the birth of Jesus,” said Baker, “I like being able to remind people about the true meaning of Christmas.” Baker claims that learning about the history of Santa helped him to relate religion to the Christmas icon. “He was a wealthy man, and he paid the dowry for fathers of daughters who could not afford to do so. That way their daughters wouldn’t be sold into prostitution. It’s that similar form of kindness and compassion that should be displayed in Santa today,” said Baker.

IUSC helps people like Baker who are passionate about Christmas and the people they affect while in costume to get ahead in the business. Baker has a BA in Santaclausology from attending the two day program. Students can also receive an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, advanced master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in Santaclausology.

Baker claims that the topics covered at the school make a vast amount of difference in the levels of performance and professionalism of Santa Clauses. Baker hopes that his previous experiences as a Boy Scout leader and a children’s ministry leader and his current position as a church director for the children’s ministry program, Awana, will help him stand out in the business now that he can partner it with his recent degree. “It’s really important that people find an experienced and professional Santa,” said Baker, “I have all my background checks, and I’ve worked with children for 25 years. I want people to know that I’m not just a guy throwing on a suit. I’m a professional doing it year-round.”